Dogmatique Standard Poodles

Week Six

The puppies continue to grow more independent as they define their personalities more each day. Their play is becoming more about defining their own place in the puppy pack. One of their new favorite games is "king of the hill", or in this case "king of the step". We have three small steps that the pups need to navigate on their way from the puppy room to the lawn, and when they make the journey, a few pups will stay on the top step and bark at the ones already down on the lawn looking up at them. Being king is usually only temporary, as the pups at the top quickly pounce on each other and eventually run (and sometimes roll) down to join their brothers and sisters. The pups can all go up the steps easily, but it takes a bit of ongoing practice to go down without slipping and squawking. When each step is as tall as you are, you want to take your time!

A pup takes its time heading down the steps.

Sisters Red and Light Green play Queen of the Steps.

The pups are very vocal now, although standard poodles are not generally as "barky" as many other breeds (including their smaller cousins the miniature and toy poodles). However, even when their ruckus gets especially noisy, they know to listen for us clapping our hands and calling them. It's an amazing sight to see ten puppies come tearing across the patio or the lawn with tails wagging, ready to climb into a lap or get an ear scratch or a tummy rub. However, they're already losing their ability to climb into a lap as they keep growing. The smallest pups currently weigh almost 3 kilograms (a little over 6 pounds), with the largest pups close to 4 kilograms (more than 8 pounds). Weighing the pups is necessary for deworming them, which we do with a tiny mouthful of Strongid, the same medicine that they'll get at the vet every year. (The pups don't have worms! This is just something that's done on a two-week schedule when they're young to be safe.)

The pups continue to chow down on their kibble, and they are comfortable enough with their feeding that they often mix things up by playing with their food. A few pups like to eat while they're laying down, hanging their heads into the bowl and blocking the way for their brothers and sisters. (We always have multiple bowls going, though, so no one gets left out for long.) Other pups love to keep one foot in the bowl while they eat, while others have developed the habit of scooping the food out of the bowl to eat it off the floor. Even though the pups aren't wearing their food anymore, meal times can still be messy! Thankfully, these are all habits they grow out of pretty quickly.

A tired pup sprawls on the floor as it chows down on an afternoon snack.

The pups still nurse a couple of times a day, but it's much less about food now and more about spending time close to mom. Gwyn continues to teach the pups their manners with a little growl sometimes, as their teeth are all in now and they need to be gentle with her. Our other dogs (including daddy Danté) like to be around the pups, but only for short periods. We think the little ones just have too much energy for them, not to mention that the pups will sometimes poke around looking for milk like they do with Gwyn. Especially for our boys (Danté and Raine), this can be a little too much!

As her nursing has slowed down, Gwyn is happy to have her energy back and to get back to retrieving when we're all outside with the pups. The pups love watching her, though they haven't started in on fetching yet. However, they've taken the first steps toward it by playing "keep-away". One pup will find a twig in the grass or grab a chew toy or wash cloth and tear through its brothers and sisters with it. No matter what the pup is carrying, everyone else will suddenly decide they have to have it, too, and off they go.

One of the most interesting things that happens at this stage is that the pups begin to spread out when they sleep, with some in the crate and some laying down on the floor around it. From the time they're born, they've always huddled as close together as they can in a puppy pile, partly to keep warm at first, but also for the contact they need in their first few weeks. Now, they're starting to need their own "alone time", which is an important instinctive step towards the day when a pup leaves its brothers and sisters to take up a place with its new family.